The Switch
by Brittany Kristensen
Summary: "Dauntless!" I smiled nervously as I walked towards the group of people wearing black. Everyone in the faction seemed to be cheering, except one. He was tall and lean, and pretty fit I must admit. I sat in the empty seat next to him and he let a laugh escape him. "What?" I asked. He looked at my outfit up and down before answering. "An Amity? In Dauntless? You'll never make it."
1. Chapter 1

I looked down the aisle I was seated in for the ceremony. For the transferring, the seating plan is based on your family. Parents in the isle, then the kids, oldest to youngest, in the middle. For the non-transferring, you either sat with your parents as we do, or if you're in a different faction than them, you just sat near your friends.

I looked to my right to see my father, at the very end, my mother, and my older siblings, Rolton, who is 21, and Milia, who is 18. I looked to my left and saw my little siblings. The twins, Seryem and Jelsia who are 14, Jony, who is 11, Lilianna, who is 8, Bryler, who is 7, and Kaniel, who is four. I looked around to see some of my older siblings, the ones who transferred. Four of them have, and each chose a different faction. Three of them are quadruplets with each other and Milia. Kyler, who chose Abnegation, Demma, who chose Candor, and Istin, who chose Dauntless. Milia was heartbroken when they left. It's surprised all of us, they were really close; you could never separate them. I guess the factions changed them; faction before blood. There was also Decian, who is 17 and switched to Erudite. Out of all my siblings, I was closest with Istin. I missed him terribly when he transferred to Dauntless, but I eventually had to get over it.

From across the room I caught Kyler's bright green eyes. I've always been jealous that he had gotten our mother's eyes while I had gotten our father's dull blue-grey. He gave me smile and nodded. He knew what I was thinking; I had met with him after school behind one of the Abnegation houses. I told him about my test and cried in his arms. He comforted me, but I don't know if that his brotherly feature he always had, or his Abnegation personality kicking in. I decided he was being brotherly to make me feel better. I gave him a quivering smile back and he frowned.

"They'll still love you," he mouthed to me. I knew he was talking about our parents and siblings. I nodded, trying to convince him I believed what he had said, but he just gave me a small smile as he sighed. I feel bad that I didn't believe him; when he switched, we visited him and everyone else who transferred on visiting day, but I was still nervous. I kept looking around and saw Demma in her plain white clothing. I remember the day she dropped her blood on the glass like it was yesterday. I was the most surprised to see her go; she was so peaceful and was always the one to stop all of us children from fighting, if our parents weren't home that is. She waved at me slightly, but was quickly snapped back to her friend's attention by their laughter. I looked over at Decian and we looked into each other's eyes for a while before looking away. I was never close with Decian, but he always seemed to be standing up for everyone, always caring for other people's protection. His test told him Dauntless, but at the choosing ceremony, he become stressed about the decision and moved his bloody hand back and forth over the Amity and Dauntless bowls. While moving his hand, his blood dropped onto the Erudite water. The announcer's voice boomed out the faction and he walked to the blue crowd in a monotone movement. He's never been the same since. Finally, I looked over to the Dauntless section. They looked so reckless, so, uncaring of anything. I was finally able to find my brother in the mix of black.

Istin made eye contact with me and I could see the protectiveness in his eyes. He was always this way with me, never wanting me to get hurt. He gave me a huge smile but I could see his eyes watering; this decision was most likely going to hurt him more than it hurt me. Kyler told him what happened after I left school the day of the test, and I remember Istin knocking on my window in our small and cozy Amity house crying. I crawled out and he hugged me, begging me to change my mind and I instantly knew what he was talking back. I didn't say anything, but I nodded, and that seemed to give him a sense of comfort, although I knew he didn't believe me. I was never fit to be a Candor anyways. He held back his tears and rubbed his eyes, one of them being green and the other blue. His sympathetic look was interrupted by the booming voice of the speaker. He gave me one last smile and turned to pay attention.

The man in the front began speaking, but I wasn't paying attention. I realized then why Decian was so nervous when he made his decision. What if I ended up like him? Will I become a robot of a faction I don't belong in? Will I become factionless? My heart raced faster than normal and I had to wipe my palms on my orange skirt because they were beginning to get sweaty. I suddenly felt a hand slip into mine and giving me a reassuring squeeze. I turned to my left to see that Seryem had grabbed a hold of my palm. He smiled up at me and put his head on my shoulder. I rubbed my thumb back and forth on the back of his hand out of nervousness. Seryem was always putting others in front of himself; I would be surprised if he didn't choose Abnegation when he's old enough for his choosing ceremony. I looked to my right and up at Milia. She turned to me and gave me a smile, but I knew she was nervous. She didn't want to lose anymore siblings.

"No matter what, I'll always love you," she whispered. My eyes began to tear up.

"You promise?" I asked. She looked down for a second, contemplating her answer before looking into my eyes.

"I promise," she assured as a tear slid down my cheek.

"Me too," I replied quietly, but I was just trying to assure myself. Milia began rubbing my thigh in a comforting manner and I began to relax. It only lasted two minutes before I heard my name.

"Auslina Claymon," the voice seemed to scream. I looked to my left and Seryem gave me a nod and a smile, while all the other little ones tried not to be scared for themselves. I stood up and I looked at Milia and Rolton, who both gave a smile, trying to urge me on comfortably. I looked at my parents as I walked by and they whispered, "I love you."

"I love you to infinity," I whispered before I began walking down the stairs. My legs seemed to turn into jello and everything began spinning until I walked up and grabbed the knife. I cut into my palm where Seryem's hand used to be. I looked up at my family and they were all holding each other's hands and smiling, except for the twins where Seryem held Jelsia in his arms. I looked at Istin and he shook his head while Kyler was nodding and smiling. The blood was almost about to fall on the Amity earth when I switched it to Dauntless.

"Dauntless!" yelled the voice, and I smiled nervously as I walked towards the group of people wearing black. I looked to my family and saw my older siblings and parents trying to hold it in to comfort my little siblings, Mom had Jony, Dad had Lilianna, Rolton had Bryler, and Milia had Kaniel, although she was crying herself. I saw Seryem holding Jelsia closer as she broke down in his arms. They were also so close to each other, being twins also made them best friends. Seryem was so protective over her, like Istin watching over me. I was going to miss them; I was going to miss all of them. I turned away from them, I couldn't watch anymore. I turned to Decian, and he gave me a small smile, but it seemed he was still in a monotone state. I looked at Demma and her green-grey eyes turned red; she must have been crying, Dauntless is the most dangerous faction. Her eyes met mine and she smiled, trying to stiffen up, but it wasn't working and she turned her head into her friend's shoulder. I looked up to Kyler and he was smiling proudly, and I knew he was happy I went with my choice. I turned to Istin who was having a huge break down. He looked at me and more waterfalls came down. He looked away and I felt a wash of regret fall over me. Everyone in the faction seemed to be cheering, except for Istin and one other. He was tall and lean, and pretty fit I must admit. I sat in the empty seat next to him and he let a laugh escape from his mouth.

"What?" I asked quiet but defensively. He looked at my outfit up and down before answering.

"An Amity? In Dauntless? You'll never make it."


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, calm down, just breathe, breathe, come one, just bre- holy shit. I was running out into the streets with the Dauntless when I began saw them jumping on the train. I mean, of course I see them jump on and off of it every day, but I always thought they would get the train to stop for the first day of initiation. I guess I thought wrong. I looked beside me to see a boy in blue clothes swear under his breath. I saw him running when I came to my senses and began to follow him suit. I grabbed onto the bar on the side of the car, and pulled myself up quickly. I realized the boy in blue had fallen behind me. I saw him jump just in time to miss the gaping hole in the ground where the grass used to be. He struggled to pull himself up, and I could see the nervousness in his eyes. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him up, setting him down beside me. He looked at me with surprised eyes.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing, it's just, well, you're pretty strong for a girl," he said in a shy tone. I smiled gently.

"Oh, well the farming in Amity has given all of us pretty good muscles. I guess I never noticed since, you know, I've been around them my whole life." He blushed lightly as he seemed to just notice my clothes were bright orange and yellow. He began to nervously play with his hair and I laughed.

"Um, yeah, sorry, I mean, your clothes, so, god I'm so stupid, I'm sorry," he said, getting mad at himself.

"A stupid erudite, never heard of one of those before," I said, raising one of my eyebrows. His eyes opened in shock.

"What? How did you..." He trailed off. I looked him up and down and then back into his eyes. A look of confusion spread across his face until a wave of realization came.

"Oh, god, I'm so dumb, sorry," he said, playing with the hem of his blue shirt. I laughed at his nervousness. I guessed he was just as nervous about passing the initiation as I was. I was about to introduce myself when I heard a gasp. For the first time, I broke my eye contact with, well, the erudite boy, and looked out. The dauntless, I mean, we were jumping out of the train and onto the flat roof of a building. I looked down to see a gap about three feet long between the train and the roof. I looked down to see we were about twenty feet above flat ground. I saw Erudite back up, gasping. Afraid of heights, great. I put my finger under his chin and moved his head so his eyes saw mine.

"We can do it together, okay," I smiled. He nodded, and I grabbed his hand. I gave three squeezes, in attempt of a count down, and we ran. I jumped my hardest, but I could feel Erudite dragging behind. I just reach the ledge and smiled until I realized Erudite was nowhere to be seen. I heard a groan that turned into a scream. I looked over the ledge and saw Erudite hanging there. I wanted to scream but stayed calm, not wanting to worry him. I guess the Amity personality was still in me.

"Hey, hold on, I'm right here, I got you," I reassured him as I grabbed him by the wrist and pulled up until Erudite was sitting beside me gasping. I smiled at him.

"You grabbed me. You saved my life," he said, looking at me in admiration.

"I wouldn't leave you behind," I said gently. I got up and reached down to help up Erudite, who gladly accepted. I swung around to see the same large male that I sat next to when I switched over. He had that smart alack smirk on his face as he began to talk.

"I guess you still have that sweet, little Amity personality in you, you'll never survive here, sweetheart." I felt Erudite let go of my hand.

"Don't talk to her like that," he said in an angry tone. The tall male smirked.

"And who are you?" Erudite stood firm as he spoke.

"Grayson Anders."

"Ha, that's ironic, because the Erudite and Abnegation don't get along. Your parents should have named you Blueson." I saw Erudi- Grayson stiffen up, and I gently put my palm in his and rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb, seeming to calm him down. The giant male continued speaking. "Well, Grayson, I'm Four, and if you don't treat me with respect, I will gladly push you into the chasm, or even better, back off that ledge." I saw Grayson coward back a little, and I shot a glare at the so-called Four. He smirked. "Wow, the Erudite and the Amity. Good luck, you going to need it." He walked away as he spit out and onto the cement of the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

"Alright, everyone listen up!" yelled Four, "We're going to be having a bit of fun today. The first thing you must do to pass your initiation is to jump off this building." I looked around to see I wasn't the only one that had a look of horror on their face. Grayson was about to speak when I placed my hand over his mouth. I lowered it as he turned to me.

"Now is not the time for questions, or comments," I whispered.

"Why not?"

"Because," I was cut off by Four clearing his throat.

"Erudite and Amity, front and center," he spoke as his smart alack grin appeared on his face.

"That's why," I said gently. We walked up to the front as I saw Grayson stiffen up. He seems to be afraid of a lot things, why did he choose Dauntless, he'd be better off in Amity or Abnegation. I laughed silently as I remembered Four's joke of how ironic his name was; now that I thought about it, it was a little funny. Apparently, my laugh wasn't as silent as I thought it was, because it seemed to get everyone's attention. Four frowned.

"What's so funny, Amity?" he asked grimly.

"I have a name, you know," I replied, avoiding his question. He bent down so he was at my height.

"Really, and what would that be? Rose? Daisy? Julia?" he asked, listing all the girly names he could think of. He wouldn't be wrong if I was another Amity girl, they usually have short and sweet names; but I wasn't just another Amity girl.

"Auslina Claymon," I answered straightening myself up. I saw Four frown and Grayson smile. i guess it was the first time he heard my name also. four turned to Grayson.

"And, your name is..." Grayson turned to me in confusion. He really must not pay attention in school.

"The Dauntless choose their own name when they switch factions, he's giving you a chance to change your name," I whispered to Grayson. I mean, Erudite. I mean whatever. He thought for a moment before his face brightened up.

"Zayden Smith," he said confidently. I smiled also, it was a good pick. Four half smirked; I guess he was also impressed by his name. The formation of his mouth changed as quickly as it came, glaring down at us.

"Well, Zayden and Auslina, it's time for you guys to jump. Who wants to go first?" Four asked. I looked over at Grays- Zayden, who was already trembling. I sighed, there's no way he would ever go first. I grabbed his hand and gave him a smile.

"I'll go first, it'll all be okay, I'll be fine and safe, and then you have to jump, okay?" He gulped down in fear and nodded. I let go of his hand and stepping forward.

"I'll go first," I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. Four laughed slightly and stepped aside with a motion of his hand, leading me towards the ledge. I jumped up and looked down, it was completely black. I looked back at the crowd as they waited the newbies in anticipation and the older Dauntless in humor. I counted to three in my head, and jumped down.

I wanted to yell, but didn't have to, someone was already doing it for me. I heard Zayden scream as I plummeted towards the ground. It seemed that I may have to fall forever; they were just getting the gullible out of the way, until I landed in something that stopped my fall. I looked around and smiled in pleasure.

"It's a net," I whispered to myself. I felt myself rolling to the side as one of the Dauntless girls held down the net and I laughed silently. I felt her hand in mine as she helped me down.

"Hi, I'm Christina," she said, smiling, I guess not all Dauntless are rude. I smiled gently as I steadied myself and put my hand out for her to shake, and she gladly accepted.

"I'm Auslina," I told her. She was about to say something when we heard Four yelling.

"Erudite if you don't jump I swear I will push you off this ledge myself!" Christina muttered something under her breath that I guessed was Four's name. She must know him.

"Oh, Zayden, what are we going to do with a Dauntless afraid of everything," I sighed. Christina sighed, but looked at me with sympathy.

"It's not being afraid of heights that's the problem, we have lots of those. It's Four. It's his first time with the full on training. He usually doesn't handle the jumpers. Plus he's gotten a lot worse since..." Christina trailed off. She pushed back some newly forming tears and smiled, continuing, "So, how does little Miss Amity know an Erudite?"

"I helped him jumping onto the train, and off," I said. She nodded.

"Must be the," she started.

"Farming," I finished with her. We laughed gently when we heard Zayden screamed. He landed onto the net and groaned. Christina pulled down the safety ropes and Zayden came flying off completely. I put my hand out and helped him up as he groaned again. Christina caught our wrists and put them into the air.

"First jumper, Auslina, second jumper, Zayden!" Everyone cheered as she let go of our wrists. I backed away smiling as Zayden shot me a look of confusion.

"How did she..." he trailed off. I laughed.

"Don't ask, I'll tell you later. Let's just get you to the infirmary." I said, and then turned to Christina. "There is an infirmary here, right?" I asked. She laughed.

"Yeah, there is. Here let me get someone to lead you. Landon!" I saw someone run over to us. There's no way, not this early. I saw his different color eyes and tears formed in my eyes.

"Istin," I whispered to myself.


	4. Chapter 4

Zayden took one look at me and a wave of concern flooded his face.

"Auslina, what's wrong?" he asked in a gentle tone. I began shaking my head as Istin began to run towards me. He spread his arms and I ran into them and nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck. I could feel his tears falling onto the top of my head as he played with my hair as the other hand rubbed my back in a comforting way.

"You're crazy for coming here, you know that, right?" he laughed at me as his voice cracked. I nodded. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," I cried. He lifted my head up so he could look me in the eyes. Smiling, he wiped away my tears.

"You're going to be okay, I'm going to protect you, okay? You'll be fine," he encouraged. I nodded and he hugged me one last time. "Alright, let's get your friend to the infirmary and then we can catch up. I'm Istin, by the way."

"I'm Zayden," he replied, shaking hands with my brother. Istin led the way as I stood behind him and Zayden trailed behind slightly.

"So, Zayden, he seems nice." Istin nudged me with his elbow, winking. I slapped him lightly and laughed.

"I just met him! Plus, he's just a friend."

"'Just a friend,' yeah right, that's what they all say."

"I'm serious!" I laughed. He stopped at a white door and Zayden ran into us. I laughed as Istin opened up the door.

"Hey Kyla, this is my little sister Auslina and her friend Zayden. He got a bit beaten up when, well, I actually don't know what happened," Istin trailed off and I started up, finishing off his sentence.

"Let's put this in simple words. Mister afraid of heights here didn't want to jump, Four yelled and pushed him off, he landed in a bad position on the net, then fell off." Zayden groaned as he was reminded of what happened. Kyla led him over to a bed and laid him down gently. She sat down on the edge and turned to us.

"He'll probably only be in here for an hour, he'll be fine. You two can head off and I'll get him to meet you in the cafeteria for dinner," she smiled. Thanking her, Istin grabbed onto my hand and pulled me out, starting to run. I chased him until we stopped on a road of shops. My mouth opened in shock as I took it all in. There were so many things here that we didn't have in Amity, because it wasn't peaceful or had no help in bringing peace. There was liquor stores, restaurants, weapon stores, and the best of all, a tattoo parlor. I jumped up and down as I slapped my brother. He laughed and caught hold of shoulders, keeping me on my feet.

"I want a tattoo I want a tattoo!" I screamed in his face. A straight look replaced the light-hearted one as he scolded me.

"Oh no, there's no way my baby sister's getting a tattoo."

"But Istin," I whined, dragging out the last syllable of his name, "I'm a Dauntless now, I need to look tough to be tough!" I pretended to bulge my muscles and he laughed, but still looked at me a bit worried.

"I know, and I'm very proud that you stuck with your decision, despite my rebuttal. Just because you're a Dauntless now, it doesn't mean you're not my baby sister," he said, looking upset. I pulled him into a hug.

"I'll always be you're baby sister," I said into his neck. We stayed like that for a while before I heard a loud scream coming from the net I had landed in earlier. Worried, I instantly ran over as I heard Istin call my name and begin to follow me, but I kept running. I got to the net and froze.

In front of me were two girls wearing the same color clothes as me, who I recognized as the Laurent twins, but something was wrong. One was kneeling, crying, and the other was on the ground, surrounded by a pool of red. She missed the net. She missed the net. I was about to race forward, but I felt someone grab onto my arms and pull me back.

"No! Let go of me! I have to help her! She has to get to the infirmary! Why isn't anyone helping her?" I screamed as I tried to get out of whoever's grip I was in. The grip turned me around and I was greeted by Istin's sorrowful face.

"It's the Laurent twins, Istin, we have to help them, we have to!" I screamed. He pulled me into a hug and stroked my hair as I cried. "Why isn't anyone helping her?"

"This is the danger faction, we're not in Amity any more, Aus," he said quietly, kissing the top of my head, "it's different here."


	5. Chapter 5

I was following Istin down one of the halls with numbers on them when we stopped. "Room #835" was carved into a name plate that was hanging on the door. Pulling out a key, Istin unlocked the door and we walked in. From the surroundings, I could tell it was his bedroom. Although simple, it was clean and sharp. There was very little in the room, a white bed with a white desk that connected to the wall, and a black chair. One of the walls acted as a mirror, which I had assumed also acted as a closet. Agreeing with my suspicions, my brother walked over to the closet, and hovered his hand over one side, then quickly swiped the midair to the left, causing the mirror to slide away, opening a huge storage space.

I walked over and stood beside my brother, taking everything in. All his clothes were in there, both from Amity and Dauntless. Posters covered the walls, all except the other side of the mirror which, when swiped clothes, was covered with pictures of the family and his friends. There were couches and bean bag chairs, a mini fridge, a microwave, a TV and mini speakers, a dresser that held his belongs, and a coffee table. I walked around and sat down on one of the sofas, noticing the stacks of paper plates, and plastic cups and utensils. I took everything in and looked at Istin, who was smiling.

"Why don't they let you have this opened up?" I asked him. He sat down next to me and placed him arm around my shoulders.

"Well, all of the rooms look exactly like this, except for initiation rooms and houses for families. The decided that whoever moved into the room might like what they wanted in their room, but they never wanted it to show, so, they hid it behind the mirror, and eventually, everyone decided to make it into the all purpose room. Once you pass initiation, you get a room, either with one queen size bed, if you want to live with yourself or two twin beds if you want to live with a friend; of the same gender of course. Once you meet someone and go through all of the lovey dovey stuff, and a proposal happens, you both get moved into either a room like this, with the bedroom and all purpose room, which is about three times the size, or, if you'd like to start a family, you get moved into one of the houses. I don't know what they look like on the inside really, but the outside is grey," Istin explained to me. I nodded, processing the information. I turned to him in question.

"What do the initiation rooms look like?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"They're nothing special, really. There are two bunks per room that are connected to each other, and eight drawers on the bottom of them. Since there are four initiates per room, you each get two drawers. There's a window to see out onto the Pit, and then a small bench under the window. They didn't want to add a lot of storage because they didn't expect anyone to have anything until after visiting day, which is also the day you move into your new rooms, and, of course, get more room for all of your personal belongings," he explained. Smiling, I turned to him.

"How did you figure this all out, you know, when you first got to Dauntless?" I asked as he shook his head.

"Well, I just eventually figured it all out these past two years, You just got lucky, having a big brother to show you the path," He said, dramatically swiping his hand in front of him from left to right, gesturing "the path." I laughed and he got up, walking over to the dresser. He grabbed a pile of something and walked back to me, still looking at the pile in his hands.

"So now that you're a Dauntless, you can't be seen wearing the frilly Amity clothes. Here," he tossed the pile, which I saw to be money, at me, "go buy yourself a new outfit, bag, jewelry, make-up, and whatever else that you'll need for the next week of initiation." I picked up the pile and looked at the bills and froze. These were one hundred dollar bills, and there has got to be at least twenty of them in here. I looked up at Istin.

"Where did you get all this money?" I asked, shocked. He just laughed, shaking his head.

"Jobs pay good here, don't worry, I've got a lot more," he told me; motioning to the drawer he got the pile from. I stood up and walked over so I was standing beside him, and looked in the drawer, to see that it was full of neatly stacked one hundred dollar bills. "Oh, and here's a key to my room, if there's anything you need to store in here, just leave it in here and write a note. He showed me how to open and close the mirror door before I left. I hugged my brother, giving him a quick "Thanks," and ran out the door and down the halls that we came from, and into the shops hall.

I walked past the stores, and saw that everything was black, grey, or white. I stopped at a shop called "Triple X" and walked inside to see clothing off all kind. After walking around the store for a while, I picked out a bunch of each, and went to check out. I did that for about every store I went to, and ended up with a whole wardrobe. I shook it off, Istin wouldn't mind, I can just keep everything in his room except for one or two outfits and a bag, plus, there's still at least fifteen hundred dollars in cash. I was about to walk out of the shops hall, when I saw the tattoo parlor. 'Okay,' I thought to myself, 'I know Istin said I wasn't aloud but, how horrible it would actually be if I got a small one, maybe just on my ankle.' I debated with myself for a while before actually walking in. I talked to the woman at the front desk and she gave me a book of sketches to look through since I didn't already have one. After flipping through a few pages, I finally found one I loved. Sweet and simple, a small anchor with a bow wrapped around it. I pointed it out to her and she nodded, taking me back to the tattoo beds and cleaning my ankle.

Once it was done, I walked around until I found Christina in the Pit and asked her where my initiation room was, since I missed the tour all the other newbies went on to go with my brother. She led me towards the end of the Pit and across the small bridge of dirt and into the halls. We stopped at a door labelled "I3."

"Ah, the old, I3. Here's the room key," she said, passing me a silver key. "You know, my friend and I were in the same room," she said with a smile, but her eyes looked upset.

"What's her name?" I asked her. She looked down for a second to wipe away the tears that had begun to fall.

"Her name was Tris." I gave her a confused look but before I could ask anything more, she said goodbye and wished me luck. I gave her a hug before she ran off. I brushed it off, thinking she just doesn't really see this so-called Tris anymore, because of different jobs, or something along the lines of that. I knocked on the door and walked in when nobody answered. I guessed I was the first one here, or, at least I was the first one to bring something into the room. I set my bags down on the bottom bunk near the window and chose of my outfit for the rest of the night, making sure my shoes cover the new tattoo I got. I put on some make-up and put one of my studded cross phone cases onto my phone. I sprayed on some perfume and put my make-up, phone, perfume, beanie, the key to my brother's room, the key to I3, and the rest of the cash into my backpack. I looked in the mirror that I saw on the back of the door quickly to approve my outfit. I got out two more outfits for week, one for training and tests, and the other for free time, and placed one in each of my two drawers. I picked up the rest of my shopping backs, swung my backpack behind my back, and headed out for my brother's room. When I got to the door labelled "Room #835" and got out the key from my backpack. I unlocked the door, and walked over to the mirror and opened it the way Istin taught me. I wrote a quick note and put my bags down on the couch, then placed the letter on top. I walked out of the living area and turned around, shutting the mirror door. I turned around and was about to walk out when I saw a tall figure by the door, that wasn't Istin.

"What are you doing here, Claymon?" his words spoke. I looked up to be met by the one and only Four.


	6. Chapter 6

"If you really must know, this is my brother's room," I said in a smart-alack tone. He walked forward and stopped inches away from me. He towered over me as he spoke.

"Landon Cesher is you older brother?" I shot him a confused look, who in hell was Landon?

"Who's," I started, but was cut off by Istin as he walked into the room.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Giving Four a death glare, he walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

"We were missing an initiate, so I went looking for her and found her in here. She claims to be your sister, but I know that can't be true, you're a Cesher, she's a Claymon." I could feel Istin's grip tighten on me as his body stood up straight.

"You know very well that I changed my name, now get out of my room," Istin's voice boomed. Four did nothing but back up a step or two as he turned his look to me.

"All initiates are to meet in the cafeteria, let's go." I didn't move a muscle and stayed in the protective arms of my brother, keeping up a brave face. As he reached the door, Four turned around and gave me a stern look. "Let's. Go."

"I'll take her, we'll meet you there. Now leave," my brother told Four as we stayed planted to the floor. We did nothing but look at each other for the next two minutes before Four spoke up.

"Fine, be quick. Dinner starts in five minutes." He walked out the door as we stayed still until we could no longer hear his fading footsteps. Once it was silent, both of us let out a sigh of relief. Istin sat down on the foot of his bed and ran his fingers through his hair. I sat down next to him and waited for him to look me in the eye.

"I'm sorry, Aus, I know I should be brave and protect you, but he's changed so much since the incident. I don't know if I'll always be able to stop him, you have to understand that I will try, but it may not always work, okay?" he said, concerned. I nodded and turned to hug my brother as I snuggled my head into his chest. Sighing, he placed his head onto top of my and kissed my head through the mess of hair.

I debated whether or not to ask him about the incident, and decided against it. He was already pretty upset about how Four had changed, and I didn't want to make things worse by mentioning it. He obviously was also upset about it; he didn't call it an "incident" just for the sake of using better vocabulary. I pulled away and looked at him with a playful smile.

"So, Landon Cesher, huh?" I teased. Slapping me lightly on the arm, we both laughed.

"Hey, don't judge me! I wanted a cool name!" he exclaimed, trying to pull off a 'tough' look. As I rolled around laughing on his bed, he stood up and put out his hand to me. I accepted and he pulled me up and balanced me. He looked at his watch and swore.

"Come one, we have one minute to get to dinner," he said, grabbing my arm and dragging me down the hallway until I started running fully by myself. We reached the cafeteria just in time and Istin walked me to the table. I shot him a confused look as I saw other Dauntless coming in late with nothing happening.

"Wait, why did you freak out about being late?" He walked me to the initiates table as we talked.

"Initiates have to be on time, it's part of learning the schedule and rules. If you fail, well, just watch. I can already tell not everybody is here," he told me, looking around the table to see about 15 more bodies. I searched the table before finding Zayden and sat down next to him.

"Hey," I said, "how are you feeling?" He smiled at me as he answered.

"I'm good, I feel a lot better, and Kyla gave me some pain medication and an ice pack for my side. I took a nap and when she woke me up, it was time to go to dinner. She also gave me some new Dauntless clothes, I guess you got some too," he said, then looked my outfit fully up and down and continued, "although, you look a bit more, what's the word, glamoured, than the rest of the initiates." I looked around and realized that everyone except me was wearing black track pants and a gray t-shirt.

"Oh, yeah, aha, I, um, kind of went shopping?" I said, sounding more like a question than a reply. I messed with my hair nervously as he laughed.

"So, while I was deadly sick, you went shopping? Oh, the pain, it hits me right in the heart!" he screamed over-dramatically, placing his hand over the left side of his chest. Our laughs were cut off by roll-call. They began yelling out initiate's names, starting with the Dauntless born. If nobody answered to the name, they wrote it down on a white board under "absent." They finally got to Amity and I realized there was only about three of us.

"Auslina Claymon?" one of the leaders called. I yelled back a "Here" and they continued on with the list.

"Keslia Laurent?" yelled the man with many piercings. She looked up from a boy's chest and said here before going back to crying. The leaders didn't give a second look before going onto the next person on the list.

"Maysie Laurent?" she asked. I looked over to see Kelsia cry out even louder as the boy comforted her. He looked over at me and I recognized him as Charlie Idser. He gave me a sympathetic look, and nodded to the leaders, telling me to go ahead and let them know what happened. He must have watched me freak out, I almost forgot about that. I stood up and he smiled sadly, and then mouthed a sorry, knowing how I was close with the twins, but we both knew no one else would tell them, so I cleared my throat. They all turned to look at me and gave a confused expression.

"Wait, you're Maysie? I thought you were Auslina? Well, I guess we'll just mark Auslina as absent." As they were about to write down my name on the absent bored, I spoke up.

"Actually, I am Auslina, I just have to say something about Maysie," I told them gently. They nodded, encouraging me to continue. "Well, she, um, kind of missed the net, and, uh, didn't exactly make it through." They nodded and the woman holding the clipboard swiftly moved her pencil, crossing out Maysie's name. They thanked me and told me I could sit down as they continued on with attendance.

"Charlie Idser?" He yelled a here before continuing to comfort Kelsia. As the moved onto the Candor initiates, I turned to Zayden.

"Hey, I'm going to go see Kelsia, okay?" He understandingly nodded and I smiled in return, walking over to the only other Amity. I sat down next to Charlie and made eye contact with him before he nodded. I tapped Keslia's shoulder and she looked up at me, jumping into my arms.

"Hey, Kels, I'm right here, it'll be okay, I promise." She cried as we hugged and she looked up at me.

"I-It was all m-my fault. I n-never should have ch-chosen Dauntless. I knew she w-would follow me, but I still chose the d-danger faction. What's wrong with m-me?" she cried as I pulled her into my chest. I stroked her hair and whispered calming sounds into her ear until she looked back up at me.

"It is not your fault, I promise." I smiled at her as she nodded, wiping away her newly formed tears. I looked up as the man with many piercings began talking.

"Now, would all initiates follow me? We are all going to learn what happens when initiates don't follow the rules, or don't follow the schedule." We all stood up and followed him; I held Kelsia's hand as we walked through the halls and looked at Charlie to see he was just as confused as I was.

We stopped at a ledge with a deep fall into jagged rocks and churning water. To the side there was Four along with all the absent initiates. There were so many, I'm just going to say there were more absent than present. The man who brought us here turned around and began to spoke, his voice booming.

"I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Eric, and this is Lexa," he said, looking at the girl holding the clipboard. He then motioned to Four and continued speaking. "The other man over there is Four, and this, is the chasm." I became even more confused. Why are we at a chasm and how the absent apparently getting 'punished'? I turned back to Eric as he continued. "You are now going to see why Dauntless is the danger faction."


	7. Chapter 7

"Four, we're ready," Eric shouted with a grin beginning to play on his lips. Four grabbed the first absent initiate he saw and walked over to the chasm. He pushed down and made the girl fall on the hard the ground. He bent down to her level before yelling across the Pit.

"Now get down, and hold on." She gave him a fearful look, not moving a muscle. Wrong move.

"I said, get down and hold, before I push you off!" The girl nodded and began crawling to the edge, ready to grab on for dear life. I heard Zayden gasp as I turned around. I walked through the crowd towards him and sent him a smile.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked him. He kept staring at the girl as she finally got off the chasm, just holding on with her hands. Zayden shook his head as tears began to form on his eyes.

"That's Avalon, she was a family friend of mine back in Erudite." I grabbed his hand and rubbed my thumb back and forth on the back of his hand in an attempt of comfort. He gave me a smile of thanks when we head someone scream from the other end of the room. Immediately, everyone looked towards Avalon, but she was still hanging there, waiting for Four to tell her it was okay for her to come up now. Suddenly, we all heard another yell, and then footsteps. I looked around when I say a girl in black clothing run up to the chasm and help Avalon up. She whispered a thank you before running back to the line of initiates. Zayden walked over to her to, by what I'm guessing, calm her down. I looked back at the woman who had helped her up and realized I knew who it was.

"Christina?" She turned around and sent a smile my way, and a look saying, "I'll explain later." I nodded and she whipped her head around to the three leaders that were now standing in front of her, furious.

"Four, you know that we're not allowed to do that anymore, especially because you usually kill half of the initiates!" Four had a sad look on his face as the words "you usually kill" were mentioned, but quickly regained his straight face.

"What does it matter what I do with the initiates? Why do you care so much?" Eric remarked. Christina turned her head over to him and glared.

"It matters to me because I am the counselor and teacher of the initiates, and I have already had so many come crying to me because they have had someone who died! Now, if you would please take them back to dinner, I can punish the others." Eric was about to step up when Lexa put her arm in front of him, blocking the path. She shook her head no as he looked at her, and backed off. Lexa looked at us.

"Okay, present initiates come with me back to dinner," she ordered. Everyone began moving when Eric caught my arm.

"Not you, you're going with Christina." I nodded my head, not exactly knowing why I was going with Christina, since I was present, but didn't ask anything and guessed it was because she wanted to talk to me. I walked over to Christina as she smiled and turned to the initiates who were left.

"Okay, so I'm supposed to punish you, but we're just going to do some extra training, which really puts you at an advantage," she said calmly. Everyone nodded and began to follow us at the front as she turned her head to me.

"Now, I wanted you for two reasons, one, I also want you to have extra training, to make sure you'll be okay, and two, I need to talk to you."


	8. Chapter 8

After the extra training session all of the absent had with Christina, they were sent for a late dinner. As I was walking away, I felt someone grab a hold of my wrist. On instinct, I snapped it away, but as I turned around to see Christina, I quickly apologized.

"Would you mind coming to my room for a talk?" she asked. As if on cue, my stomach grumbled. We both looked down and laughed as she added, "Don't worry, they'll be food."

"Well, only because of the food, yes," I smiled at her. After all the absent had left, She led me down the hall on the opposite side of Istin's. It must be a gender issue. We stopped as we reached a door labeled "Room #396." She picked the key from her pocket and let us inside. She told me to sit down on the bed while she tried explaining the mirror door. I ignored her and swiped open the door myself as she looked at me shocked.

"How did you..." she trailed off. I smiled and sent her a look saying think-about-it. She took a few seconds to comprehend it before looking at me as we spoke in sync.

"Istin." We laughed as we walked into her bonus room which was completely different in style from my brothers. I guess he wasn't kidding when he said they let you do anything you want with it. Hers looked like more of a room to relax in. I wouldn't blame her, having to work with a bunch of jerks all day it doesn't hurt to relax for a few hours. She sat down on the couch and I followed suit.

"So, I'm guessing you have a lot of questions." Nodding, she continued, "I'm going to say everything all at once, so it may take a hard toll on you, but you're a strong girl and you'll be okay." I began to get worried, but continued nodding. She sighed and started fiddling with her thumbs, and after a few minutes, began the story.

"Three years ago, Four transferred to Dauntless from Abnegation. He was always a tough initiate, seemed strong, put on a brave face, and only had four fears, which earned him his nickname. After initiation he spent his time in the control room, even though he was offered a bigger and better job opportunity. He didn't speak much, unless spoken to, and he never let anyone in on what was going on in his life. He did that for two years, until this one girl came along. Her name was Tris. Both of us had our choosing ceremony the same year, although she was from Abnegation, and I was from Candor. Now, Tris and I met on the first train jump, when we helped each other out. She was also the first jumper, and Four was on net duty. Ever since she landed in that net, you could tell that he had changed. Now, of course, I've heard all of that from people who chose Dauntless the same year as him and from the men and women who had trained him during the initiation. This is what I know from heart.

"Four's wall started to have faults in the structure, and you could see it come crumbling down inch by inch. The time he held onto Tris' waist during knife training, the way he threw knives at her in confidence after she stuck up for this guy Al. There were many more signs, both that I have seen, and haven't, but the one major event that made the wall crash down with excruciating force, is when he let Tris into his fear landscape.

"I don't believe you know exactly what that is, so let me explain. It is a simulated illusion that makes all your fears come before you, one by one. You must overcome them to move onto the next. When in initiation, the test you in your fear landscape multiple times. To move onto the next fear, you must overcome the one at hand by thinking like a Dauntless would think. For examples, I will use Four's. He was afraid of heights, so when the landscape was high up, to overcome it, he had to jump. When he was claustrophobic and was placed into a small box that kept closing in, he had to think of a way to stop the box from moving in, instead of having a panic attack. When he was Afraid of having to kill people and the scenery was a room filled with three things, him, another person, and a gun, he had to shoot the other person. When he was afraid of his father, he must stand up for himself to overcome it.

"Now, I mentioned Four, I should I know say, Tobias Eaton, was afraid of his father. Let me explain, his father whipped and beat him as a child, until the day he transferred. I was never exactly sure when, but his mother became factionless at a time in his life, also. When he transferred, he hid everything to be strong. As soon as Tris saw his fear landscape, everything he had built up was demolished, and for once, he was okay with it happening.

"They fell in love, although through the way there were tough patches, and many, many deaths, but they seemed to make it through. Now here comes a big part, so I want you to listen closely.

"A war had broken out in the factions. You see, both Tobias and Tris are what we call Divergent; meaning that you got more than one faction results on the aptitude test. Now, most people frowned upon it, and most Divergent were killed on the spot, unless you had a nice person at your aptitude test, which both of them did. Absolute hell broke out; many people were killed in the long lasting war. My boyfriend was killed, one of Tris and mine's closest friends, Uriah, was killed, Family members, friends, strangers, anyone, you name it, were killed. You see, the most traumatic for Tobias to handle, was, well, Tris' death. She was killed at the end of the war, and I mean the very end, It was about an hour after her death that war ended. Tobias was devastated.

"After the war, everything was cleaned up, and people decided that the faction system will stay, except the fact that if you fail to pass the initiation in one faction, you are just to return to your own faction and have your aptitude test and choosing ceremony again. The only way that will happen is if you fail, not if you dislike the faction. Of course, we no longer are if someone is Divergent or not, it's actually quite a good thing now, as it means you are capable of many great things. Everybody went back to their factions and homes, and everything was fine again, except for the mourning of many deaths. After a while, everyone seemed to get over their losses; all except for Tobias.

"He rebuilt his wall, and put on, not a brave face, but a rude face. He decided that if he was rude to everyone, no one could get in. He came out of the control room, started training initiates just to scare them. He wasn't close to anyone anymore. In fact, he and your brother were friends until he shut everyone out. He built something solid, but it wasn't enough, so he kept building it higher and stronger. He still is to this day, and one day, he going to run out of supplies and his wall will break, and as his wall goes down, so will he."

I looked up at Christina to see tears in her eyes. I pulled her into a hug as she cried. After five minutes, she pulled away and gave me a thankful smile as she wiped away the last of her tears.

"Alright, so do you have any questions?" she asked me. I went of the story quickly in my head and looked back at her when I figured out what I wanted to ask.

"You mentioned my brother being good friends with Tobias before he shut him out. Did Istin end up becoming cold towards him too, or was it just him protecting me when Tobias was threatening me?" She shot me a confused look and shook her head.

"I don't mean Istin, sweetie, I mean Kalen." I looked at her with shock on my face.

"I thought Kalen was sent out into a city? My parents told us that we shouldn't bring it up because it was a complicated subject."

"Well, he did go out into a city, but he came back, and Tobias and he were great friends. He was the in the same initiation train as Tris and I, also. After Tobias pushed Kalen out of his life, Kalen became very depressed. He became the control room robot, and did nothing but sit there, eat his meals, and sleep. After a fee months he found him in...I mean he's, wait, never mind." I looked at her like she was crazy.

"You want me to just forget about it after you told me my brother was alive and here? No, tell me right now," I said sternly, standing up. Christina shot me a sympathetic look as she stood up with me.

"Well, he's not actually here, Auslina. He's, well, sweetie, Kalen is dead.


	9. Chapter 9

THIS CHAPTER WILL BE IN KALEN CLAYMON'S P.O.V (POINT OF VIEW) AND TAKES PLACE TWO YEARS EARLIER THAN THE REGULAR PLOT

THIS CHAPTER WILL HAVE A TIME SKIP. IT WILL GO FROM THE END OF INITIATION TO AFTER THE WAR. REMEMBER, IN MY VERSION, AFTER THE WAY EVERYTHING WENT BACK TO NORMAL, EXCEPT THAT BEING DIVERGENT IS OKAY AND YOU ARE ALOUD TO DO INITIATION AGAIN IF YOU FAIL A FACTION'S TEST. WHEN THE TIME SKIP TAKES PLACE, YOU WILL SEE WRITING IN THE FONT AND COLOR THAT SAYS "TIME SKIP" IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE BETWEEN TWO PARAGRAPHS.

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES MINOR SWEARING.

I sat trembling in my seat as the names began being called. My hands were shaking as I looked down at my lap to see my right leg slightly jumping up and down rapidly. I didn't dare look at my family, I've been hiding from them since yesterday, after I had taken the test. The lady who ran my test told me that I was applicable for all but one faction, Candor. She told me I was one of many people who are called Divergent. She told me to go straight home, and put my faction in as Abnegation.

When I got home, I went straight to the room I share with my identical twin, Istin, and my little siblings, Auslina and the twins, Seryem and Jony. I spent all night deciding which faction to choose. I ruled out Candor, of course, and then Erudite. Just because I'm smart, it doesn't mean I want to sit in front of computers and study for the rest of my life. Now, this morning, sitting in the stands, covered in my Amity clothing, I am about to become a faction traitor.

"Kalen Claymon," the voice spoke. I licked my dry lips and walked up towards the stage, barely hearing my families "I love you"'s as I drained out everything I heard. Me palms began to sweat as I repeatedly thought of the bowl my blood was about to drip into. The man at the front handed me a knife and smiled gently, then nodded his head to the bowls.

I stood in front of the crowd and looked to the ceiling, clenching my eyes as the knife dug into my skin. I looked back over the crowd to see everyone looking at me as the blood began to pool into my palm. The man whispered something to me about hurrying up as I looked over at my family. I nodded slightly and looked down at the faction bowl I had decided to join last night. I raised my palm and turned it sideways, creating a waterfall of thick, red liquid to fall into the bowl and sizzle away on the Dauntless coals.

I took a napkin as I walked towards the cheering crowd of black and gray and sat down next to a girl in white clothing. I smiled at all the jumping Dauntless who greeting me with hard, congratulatory, pats on the back. I turned my head and hearing back to full attention as the next name was called.

"Istin Claymon."

Shit. I thought, I've been so worried about my god damn self I forgot about my own twin brother.

I watched as Istin took the knife and cut open his palm. I saw his hand dangle over Abnegation as he stared me in the eyes and I began remembering last night.

"So," Istin questioned as the younger twins slept, "are you nervous for tomorrow?" I turned away from the wall to be greeted by his smiling face as he sat on the twin bed next to mine. I nodded slightly and sat on top of the ruffled covers on my bed. He stood up and quietly down across from me and sat criss cross as I did suit.

"You know they'll love you no matter what, right?" he began, "Mom and Dad, I mean. They're not going to hate us if we switch." I nodded and looked down. I head kept my results from everyone and there was no way I was giving it up now. Istin poked my knee and he stared into my eyes.

"I know what's wrong." I quickly sat up straight and shook my head.

"What, wrong? Pff, nothing's wrong. just nervous for tomorrow, you know," I tried to play off. Istin smiled that half smile of ours and looked up sadly.

"You're Divergent, aren't you?" Okay, so I know we're twins, but how did he know that? I nodded slightly and he looked me in the eyes with one eyebrow raised as I asked him how he figured out. When I still didn't understand, he made a motion with his hands that signaled "me, you, me, you". I gave him a confused look before I realized what he meant.

"You mean, you too?" I asked.

"Yeppers," he nodded, "I'm up for Amity and Abnegation, what about you?"

"Everything but Candor," I replied in a hushed tone. He gave me a shocked look before going back to normal. He could tell I was already stressed enough. He gave me a sigh before hopping back into his bed and giving me "Goodnight" before he fell asleep.

Before his blood was about to drip onto the Abnegation gray stones when he shook his head and swiped his hand over the coals. The Dauntless burst into excitement again as I watched him walk over to the seat beside me. I stood up and hugged him.

"What is wrong with you? Dauntless is the danger faction." I felt one of his tears fall onto my red shirt as he wiped away the rest.

"I could say the same to you," he retorted. I pulled him away and held onto his shoulders.

"Yes, but I'm at least part Dauntless blood; you're Amity and Abnegation," I said quietly. He looked down in defeat as we sat down in reckless black crowd.

I watched as the last person dropped their blood onto the Amity earth. Immediately, I saw the black crowd stand up and walk towards the stairway. I grabbed onto Istin's shoulder, catching his attention as we stood up and caught up with the sea of black. As we ran down the streets I started to feel a wave of freedom run through my veins. My dirty blonde hair scrambled over my face from the constant wind, my lungs puffing air from sprinting, my new faction there right beside me; it all added to the adrenalin rush. When we came to a stop, and I heard the train whistle, my heart skipped a beat as I knew what was about to come. I looked over to Istin as he gave me a look of fear and I grabbed his hand.

"Together," I smiled at him as he gave me a slight nod in return. We ran towards the moving carts and then jumped. I grabbed onto the handle, pulling Istin fully into the cart before I secured myself. I sat myself down at the back of the cart next to my brother as I gave him a high-five.

"First part's over, you doing okay?" I laughed teasingly as he began catching his breath. He gave me a small slap and a smile as we heard a gasp from a girl in Erudite clothing.

"You have got to be kidding me," said a girl in Abnegation cloth. We stood ourselves up as we walked towards the cart door. We looked out to see the first carts jumping onto the roof of a building. I felt Istin move away, so I grabbed his elbow and pulled him back. I looked him in the eye as I spoke.

"You already jumped onto the train; you can jump off, okay?" He gulps before nodding as we turned to face the door. I quickly gave him a reassuring look as we ran towards the edge and jumped, landing safely on the other side. We smiled at each other and quickly shared a hug before we heard a scream coming from the ledge. We ran over and looked down to see a girl at the bottom; she didn't jump far enough. I backed away and turned to the man in black who was now standing on the edge of the building, trying to get our attention. He began to explain initiation, and then told us about how to continue. The first part was to jump off the ledge. I watched as the girl in Abnegation clothing walked up to the ledge as took of her sweater as some of the boys whistled and teased her. I watched as she jumped and felt Istin squeeze my arm; he is not going to take jumping off a building very well.

Next was the girl in Erudite clothing, who seemed to jump off with ease. I waited for a while, watching a few more people jump off before going up myself. I knew that if I backed out, so would Istin, and I can't have that happen.

I stood on the ledge and looked over at the man who explained everything, Eric, as he gave me a teasing smile. I nodded my head and closed my eyes, turning back towards the empty space I was about to jump into.

"We don't have all day, sunshine," mocked Eric, earning laughter from the fellow Dauntless. I nodded again and jumped, screaming as I fell into the nothingness. I felt myself land on something, and opened my eyes. i looked up laughing to see someone falling towards me. I rolled slightly to the left as the figure fell and recognized it as Istin. The net began to slant and we fell off the side and onto the floor. Istin pulled himself up and offered me a hand which I accepted gently. I laughed at him as I patted his back.

"Just couldn't wait to jump after your big brother, could you?" I teased as we walked to stand with the others who already jumped.

"Listen up," yelled the instructor, "All Dauntless born will go with Laura and all transfers come with me." I watched as our colorful group continued to follow behind Eric as he took us to a room with many bunks.

"This is where all of you will be sleeping. Yes, both genders get over it," he told us, looking tired of us already. You could tell by his facial expression he is not looking forward to training the transfers. He had the same exasperated expression as we walked around Dauntless compound. The cafeteria, exasperated expression. The off limit areas, exasperated expression. The training area, exasperated expression. The shops hall, exasperated expression. It was as if the word 'smile' wasn't in his dictionary. Eric stopped in front of a clothing shop and we all followed suit. He cleared his throat to catch all of our attention before beginning to speak.

"Since you are all transfers into Dauntless, we can't have you wearing any of your bright clothing." I watched as I saw the girl in Abnegation clothing from earlier smirk and speak up.

"My clothes aren't bright," she remarked. I watched Eric's expression turn from exasperated to angered.

"Watch it, Stiff," he warned, making her lose her confident stand. "You all get half an hour to go and pick one full outfit for the next two weeks of initiation. Make sure it's comfortable, you'll be wearing it for both training and sleeping. Anyone who passes initiation will gain five hundred dollars to go shopping and get essentials. For now, this will be your only outfit, so choose wisely. Any questions?" Eric rolled his eyes as a boy in white raised his hand.

"What," he said, tiredly.

"What do you mean 'pass initiation'?" asked the Candor boy in worry, "Not everybody gets through? Where do they go? Is it like a test, or something, because I'm so good at tests? Will there be time to study, what about-"

"Enough, wide mouth, you'll learn more about that later," interrupted Eric, "Now go and meet me back out here clothed in black and your colorful clothing in your hands." I walked into the store and went straight towards the shorts section, and easily picked out a pair of simple of knee long black ones. I saw a hand pick the pair beside mine and followed the arm up to see Istin's face. I smiled and continued walking. If I get separated from him, I don't know what will happen to him. I grabbed a simple black t-shirt and changed, grabbing my orange pants and red button up shirt into my hands. I made my way towards the bench Istin was sitting in and sat down. It was silent for two minutes as we watched the other transfers grab clothes and try them on before he spoke to me.

"What's going to happen to us here?" he asked, still looking forward. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair as he followed suit. We always did that when we're nervous. Just because our faction changed, it doesn't mean we fully do.

"Well, we're going to go through initiation, then get jobs, and maybe get rooms next to each other," I said, avoiding the answer of what he actually meant.

"No, Kalen, you know what I mean, I know you do," he said back. I caught a look at him as he caught back a tear that spilled out of his watery eyes.

"I don't know, Istin," I said, "but no matter what, I promise you, we'll be okay. We'll make it through this, and I'm not going to leave your side. You can tell me your problems, and I'll chase them away. I'll be your lighthouse, I'll make it okay. I promise you, we'll be perfectly okay." I felt Istin's arms fling around me and I rubbed his back lightly.

"What I'm going to do, Kalen? Look at me, I'm such a child. I'll never survive here." I pulled away from him and looked him in his sparkling green and blue eyes.

"I will make sure you survive. You are my first priority." He smiled a little and wiped away his tears. I stood up and gave a hand, which he gladly accepted, and I pulled him up so he was standing in front of me. "Now, let's go show this Eric guy what the Amity twins are made of."

"Hey," said a boy with a tall figure. He towered over me as he stood only two inches away from me. I told myself to stand firm and not to seem scared. I wasn't going to throw away my number two on the list just because I was afraid of someone taller. Now that I think of it, this boy kind of looks like the one who placed first on the charts. What was his name, it started with an F, didn't it?

"Four?" I asked him. He nodded and pulled his hand up behind is back, ready to swing at me. I still stood firm, not giving up for anything. I looked him in the eyes as he brought his hand towards me. I clenched my stomach, ready for impact, when his hand moved towards my back. I relaxed myself a little when I realized he was patting my back. I gave him a smile as he spoke.

"Good job with initiation, second place. We'll be sure to get some good jobs here," he said to me, "What's your name again? Istin, isn't it?" I slightly shook my head with a laugh and pointed toward my brother, who was hitting it off with some girl who scored below him. Sad thing is, if they get together, it won't be for long. She landed under the needed score. She will be factionless in a number of hours.

"No, that's Istin. I'm Kalen," I told him. An excited look sprung onto his face as he looked back and forth from Kalen and me. Here we go again, the "Why do twins do everything together? Can't you guys be your own person?" lecture. We already got it with Eric when we refused to fight each other. Lexa ended up giving us extra points for standing up to him. It turns out, nobody likes Eric that much. I turned back to Four and waited for his lecture to be surprised with something else.

"No. Way. You guys are twins. That's so cool. I've always wanted a twin, you know, so I'd never be alone." He went on and on about wanting a twin so bad, I forgot what he intentionally came over to me for. Once his little excitement attack was over, I spoke to him.

"Yeah, it is pretty cool being a twin, although there are some bad sides. I'm going to go into it, I'll be blabbing on forever. Anyways, congrats on being first! You get first pick at high end jobs, pretty exciting, huh?" I nudged him with my elbow as he shrugged.

"I don't know, I'm not really into all that kind of stuff. I was really just going to work in the control room with my friend Zeke," he replied, pointing to a boy with darker skin and black hair.

"Oh, really? Well, I guess whatever you're comfortable with. Since you're going to be monitoring everything, can I ask you a favor?" He gave me a confused look.

"That depends on what it is." I turned towards my brother to see him comforting the girl who was about to be dragged away with the rest of the initiates who are now factionless. They get to say goodbye to their families and then they're gone. I watched as Istin turned from boy to girl, comforting them all. I snapped my head back to Four.

"Would you mind keeping an eye on Istin for me? Between you and I, he doesn't have any Dauntless in his blood. He came here to follow me and I feel like it'd be my fault if he got hurt. I don't want anything to happen to him. I want him to be safe." I told Four. A look of relaxation came over him as he realized it wasn't a life-risking favor.

"Of course, why not?" he smiled at me. I put out my hand in front of him and looked him in the eyes.

"You have to promise." I told him. I wasn't taking any chances with letting Istin be hurt. Four put his hand in mine and I smiled as he said his words.

"I promise."

TIME SKIP

I walked up towards the hall of apartments that held the control room staff and watched the number go up as I passed each door. 375, 376, 376, 378, there it is, 379. I knocked on the door and ran over what I was going to say to him in my head over again.

'Hey, sorry about your dead girlfriend, but you're still going to watch over Istin, right?' Okay, no, that's way too insensitive. What about -

My thoughts were cut off with the sound of the swiping door that lead to the bonus room in each apartment. I looked down at my hands and ran them through my hair. Damn, still haven't dropped that habit. He opened the door and I looked up at him. His eyes were read and puffy, his hair was a rat's nest; it looked like he hadn't slept in days. Not to mention that his bonus room was a complete mess. He was about to close the door when I shoved my foot in front, stopping the in-coming slam.

"Please, just a few minutes Four, I promise." He looked at me for a while before nodding, and letting me in. He gestured to the desk chair as he lay down on the messy bed. I watched as he tried to fix his hair in the mirror behind the door and that was when I realized he wasn't comfortable to be himself around me anymore. I stared at my best friend try to fix himself for me. I couldn't do this. I can't bother him. He needs my help. He gave up and looked at the floor.

"So," he sighed, "what did you need again?" His eyes met mine for a second before he looked away, not wanting his feelings to be read; but it was too late. One second is enough for me to notice that the happiness in his eyes was gone. It was enough to notice that his walls were built up again, higher than before, and he wasn't going to let me walk through the door. Enough to make me realize that my best friend won't let anyone fix him, yet he cannot fix himself. I puffed out a breath I didn't know I was holding in and played with the hem of my shirt as I spoke.

"Look, Four,-"

"If this is an apology, Kalen, I swear to god I will punch you hear and now. I've heard enough of them," he interrupted. A swing of anger flew over me and I stood up.

"Listen up!" I screamed, "It has been a month since Tris was died, okay. We all get it! We were all friends with her! Christina lost both her and Will, and after three days she was back up, helping get everything back in order. You need to stop moping around here! Everyone has tried to help you and you've pushed all of them away. I was too afraid to try because I didn't want to face the fact that you have even pushed me out. We're best friends, Four. You were the one that helped me with everything. We could tell each other anything. What happened? You can't just go back to what you were before, Tobias, you need help!"

Four got up off the chair and walked towards me slightly. He still towers over me, just like the first day we met. Except, this time, he was something I should be afraid of.

"Get out," he ordered.

"But, Tobias,-"

"Get. Out." I watched as his anger boiled over. He can't hold his emotions in any longer.

"You need someone," I told him. I walked towards the door and turned back at him as I was about to close it.

"Yeah? Well if I do, it's not going to be some weak Amity boy who can't stay in his own business and has to be liked by everyone!" I closed the door fully and walked back to my apartment. I hoped that Istin wasn't coming or leaving, I didn't need a run in with him. I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down a few words, and a name so they knew who it was for. I made sure everything in my place was clean, and grabbed anything special and put a piece a tape on it, and wrote a name. I changed into my worst clothes and ran to the Pit, leaving my door open.

FOUR'S P.O.V. (POINT OF VIEW)

I heard a knock on my door and got up to answer it. I opened the door to find tears streaming down Kalen's face. Did I really hurt him that bad? Oh well, he should learn to toughen up. He's a Dauntless now, no time for feelings.

"Kalen, what are you," I stopped as I noticed that Kalen's arms were now full of tattoos. There was no way they all could have been done in an hour. I looked up and saw horror in the boy's eyes. Istin.

"Istin, what's wrong?" I asked him. He opened his mouth to speak, but more choked tears began following. He gestured me to follow him and sprinted off down the hall. I was really getting tired of this boy. Why didn't he just go to Kalen? Speaking of Kalen, we were heading into the hall of his apartment. What's going on?

Istin turned into Kalen's room and sat on the bed. He pointed towards the identical desk in every room and I sighed.

"Yes, that's a desk, the same desk in every room. What's the point of this, Istin?" I boomed.

"It's what's on the desk, you asshole!" he screamed. I felt a wave of reality run over me. Istin never swears. He never yells, he never hyperventilates, he never comes to me, he always goes to... Kalen.

I turned towards the desk and looked down on a single piece of paper that had my name on it. I picked it up and held it close to my eyes and read it out loud.

"Tobias, you were the only one who never called me that. Remember our promise." My head shot up at Istin and tears welled in my eyes.

"Istin, where's Kalen?" I asked. He shook his head and continued crying. "Where's Kalen?" I screamed. He lifted his head from his hands and stood up.

"He jumped! Okay? He jumped into the chasm. He's gone! I don't know why but he's gone! He's gone." I clutched onto the letter and let my tears spill I was about to sit down again when Istin grabbed my shoulder.

"Wait, there's something you for." I watched as he opened the bonus room and we walked in. On almost every item, there was a piece of tape with a name written on it. I followed Istin to the back of the room and stopped as we came to the coffee table. He looked at me and nodded, then walked out. I crouched down and looked at the three items with my name on it placed on top of the polished glass furniture. The three things that will keep him in my mind. Three pictures that will forever haunt me.

One, of him and me at the ceremony for the past initiates.

Another, of Tris, him, and I as went to get matching tattoos.

The last, of him and me when we first told each other we were both Divergent.


End file.
